In general, in order to bind clothes, daily small articles, sandals, shoes or the like or to efficiently attach brand labels, price tags or the like to relevant products, various kinds of tag attaching device have been used in the past.
One embodiment of a specific configuration of a conventional tag attaching pin is shown in FIG. 7.
As shown in FIG. 7, the tag attaching pin 1 comprises a desired filament section 4, an insertion head section 2 provided at one end portion of the filament section 4 and a holding section 3 provided at the another end of the filament section 4 and which can hold a tag 5 thereon, and the tag attaching pin 1 is made of a suitable synthetic resin material and all of the above-mentioned sections are integrally molded into one body.
As shown in FIG. 8, first, the filament section 4 of the tag attaching pin 1 is inserted into a hole 6 which had been previously provided in the tag 5 and then the insertion head section 2 of the tag attaching pin 1 with the tag 5 held thereon, is penetrated through a desired portion of a desired good 100 so that the tag attaching pin 1 is engaged with the good 100.
On the other hand, a separate embodiment of the tag attaching pin 10 used in the past will be explained hereunder with reference to FIG. 9.
A tag attaching pin 10 as shown in FIG. 9, comprises a flexible filament section 12, an insertion head section 13 equipped with a suitable engagement section 16 located at one end of the filament section 12, and a socket section 15 equipped with a hole 14 for irreversibly passing the insertion head section 13 located at the other end of the filament section 12, wherein the hole 14 being provided with a pair of blade section 17, 17 inside thereof and which can engage with the engagement section 16 of the insertion head section 13.
And further, as similar to the above mentioned previous embodiment, this conventional tag attaching pin 1 and 10, for example, is made of a synthetic resin material such as nylon resin, polyester resin or the like and also the insertion head section 13, the socket section or the holding section 15 and the filament section 12 thereof being integrally molded into one body.
In the above-mentioned embodiment, as shown in FIG. 10, when a desired good, for example a bag 200, is a target good to which a tag should be attached, after the filament section 12 is inserted into a hole 410 previously provided on the tag 400, such as a label or the like, the socket section 15 and a part of the filament section 12, for example, are passed through a space formed between a gripping portion 300 of the bag and a surface of the main body of the bag 200 and then the insertion head section 13 is inserted into the hole 14 formed inside the socket section 15 which causes a hole in the tag, so that a predetermined tag 400 can be attached to the good 200 and reduce the filament section 12 into a loop-like configuration.
On the other hand, for example, as shown in FIG. 11, a tag attaching device 20 which is generally called a pin shooting gun, is known whereby the above-mentioned tag attaching pin 1 or 10 can be attached to a good 100. The tag attaching device 20 comprises a hollow needle 21 to be penetrated through a desired good so as to engage the insertion head section 2 of the tag attaching pin 1 with a back side surface of the good. By operating a suitable lever 22, the insertion head section 2 is inserted into the hollow needle 21 and then the insertion head section 2 is pushed out from the hollow needle 21 utilizing a suitable pin pushing-out means so as to have the insertion head section 2 of the tag attaching pin engaged with the good.
In this embodiment, it is preferable that the unit of tag attaching pin 1 can be shot out from the tag attaching device 20 one by one or it is also preferable that as shown in FIG. 12, a plurality of the units of tag attaching pin 1 are arranged in parallel with each other and they are simultaneously connected to a suitable connecting member such as a runner bar 24 via a respective suitable connecting member 11. As shown in FIG. 12, the integrated assembled tag attaching pins are inserted into an insertion portion 41 provided on a top end surface of the tag attaching device 20 as shown in FIG. 11, so as to enable each one of the tag attaching pins 1 to be successively shot individually into a predetermined good, respectively so that a tag can be attached to the good.
Further, as a separate conventional embodiment related to the above-mentioned apparatus for attaching a tag-attaching pin, an apparatus for attaching a tag-attaching pin which uses a sheet of tag-attaching pins as shown in FIG. 13 in which a plurality of tag-attaching pins as shown in FIG. 9, are arranged in parallel configuration to each other. The parallel configuration thereof is kept fixed by using a pair of connecting bars to which each one of the tag-attaching pins are connected to the connecting bar, respectively.
Note that, in using a tag-attaching pin 10 having such a configuration as mentioned-above, it can also be used individually, but in many cases, in order to improve work efficiency, a plurality of loop pins 10 are arranged in a parallel configuration to form a sheet of tag-attaching pins 600 such as shown, for example, in FIG. 13.
Specifically, the structure of the loop pin sheet 600 is such that the individual loop pins 10 shown in FIG. 9 are provided so as to be mutually parallel and neighboring, and are caused to be connected to the connecting bars 24, 24′ provided individually at or in the region of the plurality of insertion head portions 13 and at or in the vicinity of the plurality of socket portions 15, there further being a mutual linkage between the vicinity of the insertion head portions and the vicinity of the socket portions by means of the connection links 11, 11′, as shown in FIG. 13.
The above-noted sheet of tag-attaching pins 600, similar to loop pins of the past, is normally formed integrally as one from, for example, synthetic resins such as nylon, polypropylene, polyester or the like.
The sheet of tag-attaching pins 600 can be mounted on an apparatus for attaching a tag-attaching pin 20 as shown in FIG. 14, and each time the operation lever 22 of the apparatus is operated, each one of the tag-attaching pins 10 is shot out so as to attach a label or the like to a product.
FIG. 14 shows a condition in which the sheet of tag-attaching pins 600 is mounted on the apparatus for attaching a tag-attaching pin 20 in which the sheet of tag-attaching pins is bent so as to form an U-type configuration.
FIG. 15 is an upper plan view of the apparatus for attaching a tag-attaching pin 20 as used in the conventional embodiment, in which a pair of vertical grooves 40, 41 are formed at a right had side portion and at a left hand side portion thereof into which connecting bars 24, 24′ of the sheet of tag-attaching pins 600 are inserted, respectively.
For example, the connecting bar 24′ linking the socket portions 15 of the sheet of tag-attaching pins 600 is inserted into the vertical groove 40, while the connecting bar 24 linking the insertion head portions 13 thereof is inserted into the vertical groove 41. The apparatus for attaching a tag-attaching pin 20 is provided with an out-pushing pin 42 at a position in the vicinity of the vertical groove 41 and which is driven by operation of the operation lever 22 as shown in FIG. 14, so as to cause a separation of the insertion head portion 13 from the connection link 11 of the connecting bar 24, thereby pushing out the same forward along the hollow tubular pin 21, one at a time.
On the other hand, the socket portion 15 is pushed outward along the guide member 43 formed as a curved hollow guide member, by an appropriate out-pushing means, for example, by an out-pushing means 25 that is an out-pushing pin or a gear-rack system, so that it mates with the insertion head portion 13 that is pushed outward by the out-pushing pin 42 via a hollow guide formed by a hollow pin 21 at the front portion of the apparatus.
Further, the inventor of the present invention, has proposed a new apparatus for attaching a tag-attaching pin 20 as shown in FIG. 16, in order to improve the conventional apparatus for attaching a tag-attaching pin as shown in FIG. 14.
Note that, in the apparatus for attaching a tag-attaching pin 20 as shown in FIG. 16, although it uses the same mechanism and is substantially identical to that of the apparatus for attaching a tag-attaching pin 20 as shown in FIG. 14, and which also uses the sheet of tag-attaching pins 600 as shown in FIG. 13, in order to minimize a size of the apparatus for attaching a tag-attaching pin 20 and to effectively prevent a generation of jamming conditions. Jamming conditions occur because a plurality of adjacently arranged tag attaching pins are entangled with each other during the shooting operation for individual tag attaching pins and the problem causes the tag attaching pin shooting operation to be impossible. More specifically, the apparatus for attaching a tag-attaching pin 20 has a different configuration from those of other conventional embodiments in that, referring to FIG. 16, a part of a top upper surface of the apparatus 20, on which a vertical groove, that is an insertion slit 41 into which the connecting bar 24 to which a plurality of the inserting head sections 13 are connected, is inserted, is formed at a lower level in vertical direction comparing with the level of a part of the top surface of the apparatus 20, on which a vertical slit, that is an insertion slit 40 into which the connecting bar 24′ to which a plurality of the socket sections 15 are connected, is inserted, is formed.
Accordingly, in this conventional embodiment, a width of the apparatus 20 can be remarkably shortened so that a minimized apparatus 20 can be realized.
However, in these conventional apparatus for attaching a tag-attaching pin, when the sheet of tag-attaching pins formed by a plurality of the tag-attaching pins are arranged in a parallel configuration to each other and each one of the tag-attaching pins is shot one by one so as to attach the respective pin to a desired good, a length of the sheet 600 becomes longer as the number of the pins is increased. Therefore, a problem arises in which the sheet of tag-attaching pins swings when an operator is working with the apparatus and the operator needs to shift his attention to this problem causing his working efficiency to be reduced.
And further, due to the swinging condition of the sheet 600, another problem that often arises is a jamming condition wherein a plurality of adjacently arranged tag attaching pins are entangled with each other during the shooting operation for individual tag attaching pins. This can result in a tag-attaching pin not being shot out at a time when it should be shot out and remaining inside the apparatus causing the apparatus to malfunction.
The longer the length of the sheet of tag-attaching pins becomes, the more significant this problem becomes.
In addition to these problems, in a case when it is necessary to insert a tag-attaching pin into a hole such as a button hole of a cloth or a bag, or an aperture of a metal member of a fastener or the like, utilizing the apparatus for attaching a tag-attaching pin in order to attach a predetermined label or the like to a cloth or bag or the like a plurality of which are concentrated together and arranged in a hanging down configuration utilizing a suitable hanger or the like, for example, it is apparent that the tag attaching operation should be done by bringing the apparatus into such concentrated and adjacently arranged clothes or bags so as to shoot out each one of the tag-attaching pins respectively, one by one.
However, in this situation, since the clothes or the bags abut to the sheet of tag-attaching pins or apply a pushing force to the sheet, a further problem arises in that the sheet is deformed or the sheet is dropped out from the apparatus.
Further, on the other hand, in a case in which with utilizing the sheet having a short length, the tag-attaching pin is attached to a desired good and arranged separate, therefore the above-mentioned problems do not arise. Thus, it becomes easier to operate when a suitable supporting member for the sheet of tag-attaching pins is always mounted on the apparatus.
In order to resolve such problems, in the past, for example, as shown in the Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (KOKAI) No. 57-46728, a new technology is proposed in that a cover portion which can cover the uppermost surface of an apparatus for attaching a tag-attaching pin is provided, whereby a sheet of tag-attaching pins must be inserted into the cover portion in order to continually supply a long sheet of tag-attaching pins on the apparatus.
However, in this apparatus, an operation for inserting the sheet into the cover portion is complicated and time consuming and thus working efficiency is remarkably reduced when a long sheet is used, since a front end of the sheet of tag-attaching pins is projected far from a rear end portion of the apparatus, it becomes troublesome for an operator.
In addition, the Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (KOKAI) No. 2000-85733 shows a technology in that a guide member which can control an arranged locus configuration of a sheet of tag-attaching pins, is rotatably mounted on an upper surface of the apparatus for attaching a tag-attaching pin.
However, in this technology, although both an insertion portion of the sheet and a connecting bar are partially covered by a guide member so that the arranged locus configuration of the sheet is controlled, under this technology, the insertion portion performs a sliding operation with the guide member. Thus, the arranged locus configuration of the insertion portion becomes different and when one of the tag-attaching pin is shot out, a separate problem arises in that the tag-attaching pin cannot be shot out.
Further, the guide member is permanently fixed to the apparatus for attaching a tag-attaching pin and thus a separate problem arises in that an application of the apparatus is strictly limited.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to resolve the above-mentioned problems as seen in the conventional technologies and to provide an attachment used for an apparatus for attaching a tag-attaching pin which makes the tag-attaching pin attaching operation easy especially when the apparatus is inserted into lots of goods that are closely arranged to each other and a tag-attaching pin should be attached to a predetermined portion of each one of the goods, as well as prevent a jamming condition caused by a plurality of tag-attaching pins or a sheet of tag-attaching pins being entangled with each other inside the apparatus, and further to provide an apparatus for attaching a tag-attaching pin provided with the attachment.